Stepping Off A Cold Plane

August 23, 2012
After shivering under a lame airline blanket and attempting to nap for 5 hours, we finally land in Anchorage. Excitedly we get our bags ( and blankets ) and head for the door. The wind making its way into the gangway is cold and quickly reminds us that this is Alaska. "Maybe I will get that coat out of my checked bag after all." Its 1:30am by the time we hop in a taxi to pick up our rental car. So far there isn't much to see. In the dark, Alaska's largest city looks about like any other city in the lower 48. Once our rental is loaded with our bags, we type in our first destination of Soldotna in the GPS and begin our journey. Coffee is sounding really good about now, seeing as we only got maybe a total of two hours of sleep, however there seems to be nothing directly on our route.
Soon enough the city disappears and we are seemingly nowhere. Along the Sterling Highway there are numerous pull off areas on the side of the road. Must be for emergencies. It looks as though there is water out my window and mountains out Andrew's, but it is so dark we just aren't sure. "Go ahead and sleep if you want," Andrew tells me, " I'll pull over if I get tired." Directly ( or so it seems ) I fall into a deep slumber, the car slows down.  Andrew is obviously tired and we are in a little parking area on the roadside.  We settle back in our seats and all I can think is, " Can a bear get into this car? " I guess the bears weren't interested. Needless to say, a PT Cruiser isn't really made for sleeping, so after about an hour and a half we are on the road again. Where is the coffee???!!!
Now, you should know that Alaska has three seasons: winter, winter, and construction. We, of course, are visiting during construction season (summer to non-Alaskans) as this is the only time most Americans think the state is even open. We pull up to a stop sign held by a woman wearing a safety vest and typical Alaskan attire: Carhartt type overalls and jacket and ExtraTuf style (rubber and weatherproof) boots. Oh, and a winter hat. And a hood. And gloves. Okay, the point is, she looks cold. Once we are completely stopped, she walks to the driver window and Andrew rolls it down. "Hey guys," she smiles, "Did you see that bear back there?" I am inwardly panicking now ans she is grinning from ear to ear. The air coming in from the down window is ridiculous, but it's obvious she wants to chat and Andrew is just as thrilled. I sat back in my seat and covered up. Evidently the car that was somewhere in front of us has told her they had seen a bear crossing the road, but she didn't really believe them. Andrew began his game of twenty questions and we quickly learned this nice lady's entire life story. She told us how easy it was to live there, how nice everyone is, how the cold isn't too bad, etc. Turns out she also works for the planning dept in Soldotna, so, of course, we talked construction. It had now been verified, no building permits would be needed when we moved. Hallelujah!!! It was a sign. We were stuck there for at least 30 minutes and learned so much it was crazy. When she got word on the radio that were good to go, we had to ask one last, most important question yet... "Where can we get some coffee?"